Radio clock



y 13, 1952 c. PUNZMANN 2,596,790

RADIO CLOCK Filed Sept. 25, 1945 2 SkEETSSI-IEET 1 ll/IIIITIII INVENTOR CA RL PuuZ/IANN BY I 1 n ATTORNEY C. PUNZMANN May 13, 1952 RADIO CLOCK 2 SI-IEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1945 ATTORN EY INVENTOR ARL PUNZMANN BY F W MUM vwx Patented May 13, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE RADIO CLOCK Carl Punzmann, Ridgewood, N Y., assignor to Bulova Watch. Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 25, 1945, Serial No. 618,451

1 Claim.

The present invention relates. to radio receiving sets and more particularly to a radio clock for automatically turning on the radio set at a predetermined time.

Devices of this type which form. an integral part of the radio receiving set, or are separate accessories connected to the set, are well known in the art. However, such devices heretofore have been of complicated and expensive construction. and the clock mechanism, being for the most part of mechanical construction, have not been very accurate so far as keeping correct time is concerned, resulting in the automatic-turning on of the set not being properly synchronized with the beginning of a desired broadcast program.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide an accurate time clock as an integral part of a radio receiving set which is automatically operable'to turn on the set at a predetermined period of time;

Another object of the present inventionisthe provision of a radio clock of simple and economical construction which is automatically operable to turn on a radio-set in complete synchronism with a selected predetermined broadcast program.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of an accurate electrically operated clock of compact and economical construction forming an integral'part of a radioreceiving set which is automatically operable to turn a radioset on and off at a predetermined period of time and in complete synchronism with'radio broadcasting programs.

Still further objects of the present invention will becomeobvious to those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a radio receiving set provided with an electric clock of simple and economical construction for turning on the set at a predetermined time in' accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the radio clock of the present invention as shown forming an integral part of the radio receiving set in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the electric clock of the present invention taken on the line IIII II the electric radio clock taken on the line V-V of Fig. 4 and showing the position of a part of the radio clock when the radio receiving set is turned on by the clock;

Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig. 5 but showing the position of a part of the radio clock of the present invention when in the switched off condition of the radio receiving set;

Fig. '7 is a schematic illustration of the electrical. circuit and switch in the off position of the radio receiving set as controlled by the radio clock of the present invention;v and Fig. 8 is a schematic illustration identical to Fig. 7 but showing the switch in the on position as controlled by the radio clock of the present. invention.

Referring. now to the drawings in detail Fig. 1 shows a cabinet 5 for a radio receiving set of the table type provided in the front wall thereof with an electrically operated clock 6 flush with its surface. The clock mechanism contained in a casing 6' is operated by a synchronous electric motor I of any suitable type such for example as the Telechron type operable from the customary domestic source of potential. The motor, as shown, rests upon the base of the radio cabinet 5.

By reference to Fig. 2 it will be noted that the shaft 8 of electric motor 1 is connected by a flexible' shaft in the form of a helical coil 9 or the like, to a rigid shaft I0 journalled in suitable bearings l2 secured to the rear surface of the casing 6. A pinion I3 is carried by shaft l0 and meshes with a circular gear or rack l 4 which, as shown in Fig. 3, is secured to the second-hand shaft l5 of the the clock mechanism.

It is important in the manufacture of a relatively low price radio-set such as provided by the present invention to simplify the assembly and. retain effective operation. Difficulty has heretofore been experienced in aligning the motor in operative mechanical relation to the clock mechanism. In the structure shown this difliculty has been overcome by the use of the flexible shaft 9. This means of translating motion from the motor to the clock mechanism avoids the necessity for accurate assembly and makes it possible to locate the motor in a selected location relatively remote from the clock mechanism.

In small radio-sets of the portable type it is essential. to preserve appearance and to economizeroom. By reason of the novel arrangement of the clock and. its operating mechanism it is possible to positiona clock 'faceiinalignment with the diaphragm of the speaker unit as shown thus utilizing to the best advantage the limited space available on the front wall of the radio-set.

The clock mechanism is of the conventional type and only those parts thereof which are connected to the automatic operation of the radio control are herein described. It will be understood that upon an operation of the second-hand shaft 15 of the mechanism by the electric motor I through the flexible drive, comprising the shafts 8 and [9 together with the coupling 9, the gear train is continuously operated to rotate a minute hand l6 and an hour hand l1 through their respective reduction gearing l8 and I9, respectively, thus causing accurate time to be indicated on the dial of the clock, once the clock ha been properly set by the setting shaft 20 and gear train 22 and 23. As found in clock mechanisms of this type further description of which is unnecessary to an understanding of the present invention.

By reference now more particularly to Figs. 1, and 6, it will be noted that a knurled bezel 24 of the clock is provided with a marker or pointer 25. The bezel 24 is rotated until the pointer registers with a selected time period at which the radio is to be turned on. The rear periphery of the bezel 24 is provided with teeth forming an internal gear 26 which meshes with a second gear 21 carried by a shaft 28 journalled in the rear side of the clock face 29 and a back plate 39. A second gear 32 is also secured to the shaft 28 which in turn meshes with a cam-gear 33 rotatable about a shaft 34 likewise journalled to the rear of the clock face 29 and back plate 39. This cam-gear 33, as can be seen from Figs. 5 and 6, is provided with a hub 34' provided with a depending cam projection 35 normally riding on hub portion 35 of a second cam-gear 31 rigidly secured to the shaft 34 which latter cam-gear 3T meshes with the hour-hand gear l6 so as to be continuously driven by the clock mechanism. A recess or drop 38 is provided in the hub 36 of the second cam-gear 31 which is engageable by the depending cam 35 from cam-gear 33, as hereinafter explained.

Accordingly upon rotation of the bezel 24 to set the pointer 25 at any desired quarter hour into which the clock dial 29 is divided, the cam gear 33 is likewise rotated about the shaft 34 on which it is loosely mounted, through rotation of gear 21, shaft 28 and gear 32, thus positioning the cam projection 35 at a definite radial position on the hub-portion 36 of the second cam gear 31 and in a fixed relation to the cam recess or drop 33 provided in the latter, in the manner shown in Fig. 6.

A switch 39 of any well-known type is mounted upon the back plate 39 and as shown is provided with a stem 49 having at one end a cross-piece 4i provided with a pair of projecting pins 49 and 42 extending through suitable openings in the back plate 39. The ends of the pins are so arranged as to ride on the surface of cam gear 33 when the switch 39 is normally open as shown in Fig. '7.

As shown in Figs. '7 and 8 a spring 43 is mounted on the stem 49 between a stop 42 and the crosspiece M to urge the end of the pins 49 and 42 against the surface of the cam-gear 35. Thus when the second cam-gear 37 is rotated by the hour hand gear 18', the cam recess 38 will align with the cam projection 35 at the time indicated by the pointer 25. The spring 43 then causes longitudinal movement of the cam-gear 33 rela- 4 tive to the shaft 34, with the cam projection snapping into the cam recess 38.

At the same time the switch 39 will close a circuit to the radio set, as shown in Fig. 8, since it is operated by inward movement of the pins 40 and 42. The radio-set is also provided with a manually operable combined switch and volume control 44 which in its normally open position as seen from Fig. 7, disconnects the radio-set completely from the domestic source of supply LIL2. When it is desired to turn the set on for immediate reception the combined hand switch and volume control 44 is turned to one position, as shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 8, which connects the set directly to the source of supply LIL2 by by-passing the clock mechanism and by further rotation selects the desired volume.

On the other hand when it is desired to condition the radio-set for automatic reception, the user merely positions the radio dial 45 to the selected station, rotates the bezel 24 until the desired quarter-hour is selected by the pointer 25, and then moves the combined hand switch and volume control 44 to its full line position as shown in Fig. 8, thus closing the switch and again preselecting the desired volume. At the predetermined quarter hour as accurately indicated on the clock dial 29, the switch 39 is automatically operated to close the circuit to the radio-set in the manner above described so that the position of the switch and the automatic operating mechanism is in the position as shown in Fig. 8. Once the radio-set is automatically turned on it operates for one-half hour after which time the cam projection 35 will have ridden out of the cam recess 38 thus raising the cam gear 33 on the shaft 34 together with the pins 49 and 42 against the tension of spring 43 and again "opening the switch 39 and interrupting the circuit to the radio set 5. Although the construction shown and described serves to turn on the radio for a half hour interval it will be understood that this time interval may be varied by suitably modifying the cam which controls the time period during which the switch 39 is closed.

It thus becomes obvious to those skilled in the art that a radio clock of simple and economical construction is herein provided for automatically turning the radio set on and off at predetermined periods of time. Moreover, since the clock is electrically operated by a synchronous motor it maintains exceptionally accurate time so that once set at the correct time the turning on and off of the set is in complete synchronism with broadcast programs. Also since the synchronous motor is carried by the base of the radio cabinet and coupled to the clock mechanism by a flexible connection, the motor can be set at any desired position so as to in no way interfere with the radio set itself and at the same time no aligning problem between the electric motor and the clock mechanism arises.

Although one specific embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described it is to be understood that still further modifications thereof may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An electric clock having a housing, comprising a synchronous electric motor mounted on one wall of said housing, clock mechanism having a circular dial mounted on another wall of said housing, a flexible shaft for translating motion from said motor to said mechanism, a circuit for rotatable'about said dial for manual operation to move said cam member in one direction to a selected position to open said switch and means operating after a time period to close said switch to cause a'flow of electrical energy in said circuit.

CARL PUNZMANN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date I 973,854 Busenbenz Oct. 25, 1910 1,410,050 Wyss Mar. 21, 1922 Number Number Name Date Margilofl Jan. 11, 1927 Miller Sept. 23, 1930 Porter May 24, 1932 Pillen Sept. 13, 1932 Petrus Jan. 10, 1933 Lux Mar. 13, 1934 Schroeder Apr. 13, 1937 Allen June 29, 1937 Martin Aug. 2, 1938 Shaw Sept. 27, 1938 Schumert Sept. 8, 1942 Stattner Aug. 29, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany May 30, 1925 

